Cassandra Clare accomplishes with The Mortal Instruments everything I want to be as a writer. I love her descriptions, both of New York and Idris and of the Shadowhunters themselves. The characters are incredible. I love how the fact that Clary is an artist comes through so clearly in her narration. She sees everything in lines and colors. Jace is clearly a warrior, as are Alex and Isabelle, but all different types and with different motivations.

I’ve read the first three, so far: City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass. I learned that you should make everything possible go wrong for your characters. It’s so frustrating, but it just makes you want to read more and more. And it’s not necessarily bad if the characters do something stupid, because then they have to fight their way out of the consequences. So basically, I learned that bad things are good and should be handled accordingly.

Seriously, though, the descriptions are incredible. There’s no way of forgetting that Clary is short, or that Jace is a left-handed. I’ve never been to New York (or Idris, obviously), but I can see everything in my mind. I can see the Institute and the cargo ship, the demon towers and Lake Lyn. I read three books in four and a half days. And these are big books too, like 400 pages apiece. That’s how much I loved them. I think this series is the first modern fantasy I’ve ever read that swept me off my feet and plunged me into a completely new world. Because, I mean, Percy Jackson happens in modern New York too, but it’s for a slightly younger audience. Percy and Annabeth are kids compared to Clary and Jace. And that creates a completely different set of problems, naturally more compelling to me as a 24-year-old.

Can’t wait to get started on City of Fallen Angels, but I feel like I should take my time with the next five books because the final book doesn’t come out until the end of next month. It was like this with Harry Potter, which I didn’t discover until Order of the Phoenix had come out. I’m so glad I don’t have to wait a year in between every single book. I would probably die. Although, I did survive the Sherlock hiatus. But again, I came upon it fairly late in. I only had to wait for “The Empty Hearse” for about a year and a half.